Foster Parent Criteria – The Partner Provider must ensure all foster parents satisfy

Foster Parent Criteria – The Partner Provider must ensure all foster parents satisfy the following criteria: 1. Age. Foster parents must be at least twenty-one (21) years old at the time of application. 2. Marital Status. Foster Parents may be married or single. a. All adult household members must be screened for all required backgound checks. b. If the composition of the household changes at any time, the foster parent(s) must notify MDCPS and the partner provider prior to the change to assess the need for additional background checks. 3. Residency. Applicant(s) must be a resident of the State of Mississippi. 4. Income. Applicant(s) must be financially self-sufficient without the board payment. Applicant(s) working outside the household must have a plan for safe, stable and reliable childcare as well as sufficient work flexibility to meet the needs of the children. 5. Acceptance. Applicant(s) must be willing to accept placement of child(ren) of any racial, ethnic, religious, diverse populations or educational backgrounds. 6. Space. Applicant(s) must have adequate room in the home. a. Children may not sleep on couches or share a bed with another person. Exceptions may be approved by MDCPS Congregate Care Unit. b. Only same sex and similar aged children may share the same room. Exceptions may be approved by MDCPS Congregate Care Unit. c. Children must be able to access a bathroom without passing through another person’s bedroom. Exceptions may be approved by MDCPS Congregate Care Unit. 7. Telephone. Applicant(s) must have telephone service. 8. Transportation. Applicant(s) must have an operable automobile. a. All persons transporting children must have automobile insurance and valid driver’s license. b. Vehicles must have the ability to transport all children in age- appropriate restraints. 9. Occupancy. Traditional and Therapeutic Foster Homes may have no more than a total of six (6) children, including biological, foster, or adopted children. No more than two (2) children in the foster home may be under the age two (2). No more than one (1) child may have therapeutic/special needs. However, a sibling group may be placed together in excess of these limits, but only upon written consent from MDCPS and a waiver from MDMH. 10. Criminal History. Applicant(s) must have a clear criminal background and Central Registry check, Sex Offender check and fingerprinting on all prospective parents and all persons residing in the household eighteen (18) years of age and older. 11. References. The applicant(s) shall have three (3) personal references. Only one (1) of these three (3) references may be related to the applicant(s). 12. Training. Training is considered as part of the application process and does not guarantee that the applicant will be accepted in the program. a. Applicant(s) for Therapeutic Foster Care must attend at least twenty- four (24) hours of pre-service training and successfully pass all skill testing. b. Applicant(s) for Traditional Foster Care must attend at least 15.5 hours of pre-service training. c. Pre-service training shall include: i. Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), ii. Verbal de-escalation techniques, iii. Mississippi PATH or other approved foster parent training curriculum, iv. Car seat safety, v. Identification and mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect, vi. Best practices identifying effective means of discipline, vii. MDCPS approved crisis management, de-escalation and the management of aggressive behavior, viii. Emergency and safety procedures, ix. Cultural diversity and sensitivity, x. Effective management of medication, including psychotropic drugs, dosages and side effects, xi. Separation and loss focusing on issues of children in custody and the impact on family relationships, xii. CPR and First Aid Training and certification must be maintained, xiii. Universal precautions for prevention of infectious diseases, xiv. Confidentiality, xv. Reporting serious incidents, xvi. Shared Parenting, xvii. Suicide prevention, and xviii. Identifying risk behaviors and managing runaways 13. Home Study. MDCPS or the Partner Provider must conduct a study of the prospective Foster Parent’s home. a. Home Studies shall be updated every two (2) years and in accordance with the modality requirements. b. Partner Providers must utilize the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) as its home study assessment. c. SAFE is a structured home study methodology that allows child welfare agencies/professionals to thoroughly evaluate prospective kinship, foster, adoptive and/or guardianship families in a uniform manner. (https://www.safehomestudy.org/ ). 14. Discipline. Applicant(s) must be willing to refrain from any use of corporal punishment with the foster child. Foster Parents are expected to learn and use approved forms of discipline. Corporal punishment and degrading punishment are prohibited. 15. Cooperation. Applicant(s) must be willing to work closely and cooperatively with Partner Provider staff, MDCPS, and others in learning to carry out parenting procedures within prescribed guidelines. This includes attendance at monthly support meetings, following treatment recommendations, transporting child to appointments, and any other necessary procedures.